Supermarkets of Moldova to be required to display country of origin of food products on shelves

Supermarkets will be required to display the country of origin of food products on shelves. The use of graphical representations of national flags will also be allowed, provided the written name of the country is indicated. A legislative initiative to this effect was registered in parliament today.

According to MP Radu Marian, chair of the parliamentary commission for economy, budget and finance, through this initiative the authorities aim to turn everyday shopping into a driver for supporting the national economy.

“Today we registered a draft law that would introduce the obligation for supermarkets to display on the shelf the country of origin of food products and to encourage the display of the flags of the respective countries. The draft is not only about labels and country names, but also about respect for consumers and for the work of our local producers,” Radu Marian said.

Presently, the law requires the indication of the country of origin on the product label.

“In reality, this information is often ‘hidden’ in very small print that is hard to decipher. Thus, following the legislative amendments, the retailer will be required to indicate the country of origin directly on the price tag or on a notice placed immediately next to the product. The use of a graphical representation of the flag is allowed, but under a strict condition: using the flag without the written name of the country is prohibited. For non-prepackaged products, the information will be displayed according to the accompanying documents provided by the importer or supplier,” Radu Marian noted.

The draft law is part of the authorities’ efforts to encourage the purchase of local products.

“We estimate that greater visibility could increase sales of local producers by between 5 and 15 per cent in fresh product categories. Moreover, greater transparency on the shelf will contribute to the development of the rural economy and to reducing the carbon footprint by shortening transport distances, the so-called short supply chains. We have also recently registered a draft aimed at encouraging short supply chains. Other initiatives in this direction will follow,” the MP added.

The obligation will apply only to commercial units with a surface area larger than 50 m². Small neighborhood shops are exempted, in order to avoid excessive administrative burdens.